''Select Conversations with an Uncle'', published in
1895
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
* January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...
aestheticism
Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...
that takes place in a train, titled "A Misunderstood Artist," and another on
physiognomy
Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...
, titled "The Man with a Nose").
Themes
The principal themes of the conversations between a Wells-like character named "George" and his uncle are
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...
, the inevitability of human "discomfort" due to passing social movements, the resemblance of ideals to
interior decoration
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...
engaged
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
, the agony of having to listen to a near neighbor playing the
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
,
tricycle
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...
s,
social novel
The social novel, also known as the social problem (or social protest) novel, is a "work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem, such as gender, race, or class prejudice, is dramatized through its effect on the characters of a novel". Mor ...
s, and the effects of
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
.
Contents
These are the short stories contained in this collection showing the
periodicals
A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...
in which they were first published.
* "Of Conversation and The Anatomy of Fashion"
* "The Theory of The Perpetual Discomfort of Humanity"
* "The Use of Ideals"
* "The Art of Being Photographed"
* "Bagshot's Mural Decorations"
* "On Social Music"
* "The Joys of Being Engaged"
* "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"
* "On a Tricycle"
* "An Unsuspected Masterpiece"
* "The Great Change"
* "The Pains of Marriage"
* "A Misunderstood Artist" (''Pall Mall Gazette'', 29 October 1894)
* "The Man With a Nose" (''Pall Mall Gazette'', 6 February 1894)
Publication
''Select Conversations with an Uncle'' was published in a limited edition by John Lane in a series called "The Mayfair Set" and in New York by Merriam. The volume was dedicated to "To my dearest and best friend, R.A.C.," which is a misprint either for R.A. Gregory, Wells's friend who later became the editor of ''Nature'' between 1919 and 1939, or for Wells's wife, Amy Catherine Robbins (better known as "Jane"); it was published the day before ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
''. The pieces in the book were drawn from thirty or more articles by Wells published in the ''
Pall Mall Gazette
''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed in ...
'' beginning in 1893.
Reception
Wells's "uncle" character had been "very well received" in the ''Pall Mall Gazette'', but not all reviews of the volume were favorable. The ''Athenaeum'' panned it as "a dreary and foolish assemblage of commonplace ideas expressed in stilted phraseology."Michael Sherborne, ''H.G. Wells: Another Kind of Life'' (Peter Owen, 2010), p. 102.